Liberal Marie-France Lalonde is the new MP for Orlans

Liberal candidateMarie-France Lalondewon the riding of Orlans Monday night.

Lalonde had 54.1 per cent of the vote with 89.5 per cent of ballots counted. She was followed by ConservativeDavid Bertschi, who had 28.2 per cent and NDP candidateJacqueline Wiens.

Saying in May that it wastime for him to "take a new path," Liberal MP Andrew Leslie announced hewouldn't be running for re-election in Orlans, leaving the area's most populous riding up for grabs.

At her victory party, Lalonde said she was filled with emotion and relief.

"I'm very grateful. I said from the beginning that we needed to keep this seat red," she said.

She acknowledged the division across the country, but said it's important for parliamentarians to work on everyone's behalf.

"I am a firm believer that as you reach out and you listen, you consult, you find an approach that will work for the most," she told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning.

Lalonde said while provincial cuts were difficult, a federal Conservative government's would have been worse.

"Certainly [Doug] Ford's record is terrible, but [Andrew] Scheer's cuts would have been worse, and certainly we cannot afford his cuts, certainly to our public servants here in this riding."

She pointed tothe Ontario premier'scancellation of a Francophoneuniversity in 2018, which she believes sent the message that Franco-Ontarians were not important, and it was the federal Liberals that swooped in to try to save the project.

• Provincial government reconsiders French-language university

Thirty per cent of the riding's constituents list their first language as French.

Green Party candidateMichelle Petersen, who hasexperience working at CALACS, the area's francophone sexual assault support centre andRoger Saint-Fleur of the People's Party were also on the ballot.

Orlansin 2015